HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

i am 37 weeks pregnant and i plan on supplying only my milk, i've read just about everything on why not to use formula and i want to do everything i can to make sure my baby only drinks my milk. i just purchased the avent twin electric pump. now my question is...

can i pump right after the baby is born and still give her a bottle so that my husband and parents can feed her too? i plan on stashing up on milk too but i want my family to be able to feed her too because i know how excited everyone is for her arrival.

i guess im asking is it okay to alternate between my breast and the bottle, because if i am going to feed her most likely ill give her the breast but if my husband feeds her of course its in a bottle. how can this affect the baby?

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

what about just pumping and stashing my milk, ill be going back to work too so im a little worried. could i still have enough milk to feed the baby on my breast and pump throughout the day? or how often should i pump, or what quantity? i gotta know

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

I would second the recommendation to wait for a while until you give the baby a bottle. Yes, everyone wants to feed the baby because it's fun and exciting, or because they want to let mom get some rest, or whatever other reasons people have. But it's best to wait until breastfeeding is well-established until you give a bottle for the reason that the previous poster stated. If people want to help, or if you want to let others help, let them change diapers, wash and fold baby clothes, burp the baby, hold the baby while you shower or eat, or, (this one is really important), let others take care of YOU and make sure that you get fed while you concentrate on feeding the baby: let them bring you water and snacks, cook you meals, whatever you need. Feeding isn't the only way for others to bond with the baby. And frankly, pumping, bottle-feeding, and then washing bottles is a lot more work for everyone involved than just breast-feeding directly

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

Sorry I keep cutting this short, hungry toddler wanted more pears. When my baby was a newborn, sometimes I would nurse him then immediately hand him over to my husband when he was done nursing. My husband would rock, walk around, look out the window with him while I took a power nap. Then my husband would bring the baby back to me as oon as he was hungry again.

A lot of ladies here have lots of good ideas of ways for your husband to bond with baby.

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

Originally Posted by @llli*jhermes721

what about just pumping and stashing my milk, ill be going back to work too so im a little worried. could i still have enough milk to feed the baby on my breast and pump throughout the day? or how often should i pump, or what quantity? i gotta know

Honestly, you don't need that big of a stash when you go back to work: just two days' worth of bottles would be sufficient. Milk is produced on a demand and supply basis, so yes, you will still have enough to milk to feed the baby and pump. As far as how often you should pump and what quantity, that partially depends on when you are going back to work and how long you will be separated from your baby. So, how old will your baby be when you return to work? How long will you be separated from your baby?

Also, there's a working and pumping forum on the boards here with tons of info that I found really useful when I was thinking about these things. Take a look when you have a chance!

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

Definitely avoid early bottle introduction. It can cause major latching problems (baby refusing to latch onto the breast, or baby developing a latch that is painful or ineffective), and you want to make sure baby is a proficient breastfeeder before you introduce a bottle into the middle of your nursing relationship! I know all your family is SO EXCITED to meet your baby and bond with him/her, and for a lot of people nothing tops the fun of feeding the baby. But for the first 4-6 weeks, feeding the baby is YOUR job. Not your husband's, not your mom's, not your mother-in-law's. That doesn't mean they don't have a very important role to play in supporting you (bringing you snacks and water when you're pinned down by a nursing baby, doing your laundry, cooking/purchasing meals, cleaning your house, walking your dog, etc.) and doing the aspects of baby care (like changing diapers, giving baths, cuddling, baby-wearing, rocking, etc.) that can be handled by anyone. So don't let anyone pressure you into doing bottles early on.

You also do not want to start pumping very early on because a) you can provoke a troublesome oversupply, b) there's plenty of time to start building your stash, so you don't need to start on day one, and c) if you have bottles of milk there is a real temptation to use them!

Since you're a first-time mom, here are some random tips that may help you get breastfeeding off to the best possible start:
- Avoid induction of labor for non-medical reasons. Induced labors tend to be more difficult and more painful than spontaneous ones, and are more likely to necessitate additional interventions up to and including c-section. They also are more likely to culminate in babies who are slightly premature. All those things can make it more difficult to nurse. (Non-medical reasons to induce labor include: you want to be sure that "your" doctor will catch your baby, you're tired of being pregnant, your mom is going to be in town, your husband has that week off from work, a holiday is coming up, baby is "already term". Medically dubious reasons to induce include: baby is suspected to be large, baby is suspected to be small, well-controlled gestational diabetes, normal pregnancy <42 weeks gestation.)
- Choose your pain relief during labor with care. All medications used to releive pain during labor have potential negatives to them- sedatives canake a baby sleep, epidurals can cause debilitating headaches and maternal fever which usually results in baby taking a trip to the NICU. That's not to say that you should not take pain relief if you need it- just know the risks of what you're offered and choose carefully.
- Assuming both you and baby are strong and well after birth, have baby immediately delivered onto your bare chest to warm up, bond, and nurse. All routine newborn procedures (weight, measurement, eye ointment, footprints, bath, etc.) can be safely delayed until you and your baby have had a chance to get to know each other.
- Room in with your baby. There's no reason for a healthy newborn to spend any time in a nursery setting. When babies room in, there is no risk of baby being slipped formula by a "helpful" nurse (yes, it happens!), and moms can nurse at the first sign of hunger instead of having a frantic baby who has been crying for 10 minutes brought to them by a too-busy nurse.
- If you choose to send your baby to the nursery, make a sign for his/her bassinet that says "I am a breastfed baby. No bottles or pacifiers, please! Bring me to my mom every time I cry, or every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night if I don't."
- Do not supplement with formula "just until your milk comes in". Newborn stomachs are tiny and are designed to need only the small amount of colostrum that you produce prior to your mature milk coming in (something that typically happens 2-5 days after birth).
- Do not take the "gift bag" if your hospital offers them. Even if someone tells you that it's a "breastfeeding bag". They generally contain nothing but some cheap lanolin, a pamphlet full of erroneous information about nursing, and a container of formula. Women who take the bags are statistically less likely to achieve their breastfeeding goals, no matter how short-term those goals are. The formula companies give out the bags because they know that women who take the can of formula, even if they just take it "in case of an emergency", are more liley to end p using their product.
- If you run into trouble, make sure you have the number of a good lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC, on hand, and call her immediately. Nothing beats hands-on help when you have issues with a newborn!

Re: HELP! breast feeding and bottle feeding at same time?

Mama, don't unpack that pump until you are going to work. And better yet...take that one back. If you are returning to work, that one won't cut it. You will need a double electric, such as a Hygiea, Medela or Ameda/Lansinoh to pump 2-4 times a day at work.

And do not think pumping is easier than breastfeeding. It's not.

There are a million other ways to bond instead of feeding. My DH never fed the first three babies, but the fourth had to be fed via bottle. Bottlefeeding actually interfered with bonding on my part and DH's because we were totally exhausted. I had to pump around the clock, so DH, for a change, was up caring for baby. It's much easier to focus on learning to breastfeed for that first 6 weeks, while your DH helps you with other baby tasks, for instance, you nurse baby and he rocks baby while you get a shower or sleep. Learn to nurse laying down

My DH did all baby stuff other than feed with the first three, diapers, baths, etc. all good bonding activities. So many people think feeding is the only way, but it isn't

When you are a couple weeks out from going back to work, we can talk about how to pump then